Erak's Ransom (30 page)
Authors: John Flanagan
Tags: #Action & Adventure, #Juvenile Fiction, #Business; Careers; Occupations, #Fantasy & Magic, #Military & Wars, #General, #Historical, #Nature & the Natural World
The Kings of Clonmel 8 -- November 3, 2008
Halt's Peril 9 -- November 2, 2009
Plot summary
The Ruins of Gorlan
In the first book of the
Rangers Apprentice
series, a 15 year-old boy named Will is chosen to become a Ranger's Apprentice. Halt became his mentor and teaches him many things.
The Burning Bridge
The king captures Morgarath's secret plans for battle. On a mission to deliver a message for the king, Will, his friend Horace (an apprentice knight), and the Ranger Gilan travel to a neighboring country, Celtica. They discover that all the villagers are gone. On their way they come across Evanlyn, who claims to be a maid to an Araluen lady. She tells them that Wargals have destroyed the country and that everyone who has not been captured has fled. Gilan thinks that the evil Lord Morgarath finally devised a plan to cross the mountain pass. If that were true, and the King weren't warned, his army would be caught unaware and destroyed, and the country with it. Gilan rides to warn the King: the captured plans were a trick trap the king between two forces. Will, Horace, and Evanlyn decide to follow a small Wargal force. In doing so, they discover that Morgarath is building a bridge across The Fissure, which had formerly kept the kingdom safe. If the Wargal army comes across, the King's army will be trapped on the Plains of Uthal, surrounded by Morgarath's army and a Skandian force. They decide that the only way to save their country is to burn the bridge. Unfortunately, Will and Evanlyn are captured by the Skandians (some of Morgarath's mercenaries) when they find themselves on the wrong side of the bridge as it falls into the Fissure. Meanwhile, when Gilan reaches the camp of the king's army and reports, he is told that Evanlyn is actually Cassandra, the princess of Araluen. Horace rushes to camp to warn the king of another force of Skandians coming from the North, and to alert him of Will and Evanlyn's fate. Halt destroys the Northern Skandian army, but the king simulates a battle with them in order to lure Morgarath's army out so the king's calvalry will be on firmer ground. The Wargals are frightened of horses, and Morgarath's army falls into chaos. Morgarath sounds a retreat; but to revenge himself, he challenges Halt to single combat. When the King forbids Halt to accept, Horace challenges Morgarath instead. Morgarath breaks Horace's sword, but using a two-knife fighting technique Gilan taught Will, he is able to not only defend himself, but to kill Morgarath. The Wargals lose all power of independent thought with his death. With the defeat of Morgarath's army, the Skandians escape with Will and Evanlyn. Halt attempts to rescue them, but he only arrives as the Skandian's ship leaves. He shouts a promise to Will that he will rescue him wherever Will might be taken. 255 pages in US edition.
Will and Evanlyn are bound for Skandia as the captives of the fearsome Skandian Jarl, Erak. Halt has sworn to rescue Will and will do anything to keep his promise — even defy his King. He insults King Duncan until he is taken into custody. Expelled from the Rangers and banished by the king for a year, Halt is joined by Horace, who was unofficially released from Battleschool, as he travels through Gallica towards Skandia on his venture to save Will. On their way, they are constantly challenged by freelance knights — otherwise known as thieving thugs. Horace knows how to fight, though, and he soon begins to attract the attention of knights and warlords for miles around with his uncanny skill. They are captured and tormented by the local warlord. Meanwhile, Will is forced into slavery and becomes addicted to warmweed. Jarl Erak helps Will and Evanlyn escape from captivity and tells Evanlyn how to cure Will. 315 pages.
Just as spring approaches and Will and Evanlyn can finally escape Skandia, Evanlyn is carried off by a mysterious horseman. Will sets out after them. He's not the only one on their trail. On the way to find Will, Halt and Horace have also been tracking the small party of Temujai, a fierce, nomadic tribe of horse warriors from the east. Will is overjoyed to be reunited with his mentor and friend, and together they rescue Evanlyn; however, the occasion is not as happy as it could have been as Halt realizes that the Temujai they discovered are only the scouts for a massive invasion force. The Skandians have no chance, unless they accept the help of their sworn enemies from Araluen. Will trains Skandian slaves as archers, in return for safe passage home. This book in one edition has 327 pages and 294 in the U.S. edition.
Five years have passed since the Skandians and the Araluens made a peace treaty, and Will has finally become a Ranger, with his own fief to look after. He soon learns that even sleepy little island fiefs have enough problems to keep Will on his toes. Will and his old friend Alyss are thrown into a terrifying new adventure, investigating the truth behind rumors of sorcery in a remote northern fief. As he stands in Grimsdell Forest, hearing eerie voices and seeing the horrific figure of the Night Warrior looming in the fog, Will asks himself if sorcery really exists or if there is some other explanation. 329 pages
In this desolate northern fief, Will tries to gather the fighting men he needs to overcome Sir Keren and his band of criminals. Across the border, fierce Scotti warriors are waiting for the signal that castle Macindaw is in friendly hands to launch a full scale invasion. With the arrival of an old friend, Will has to try to stop Sir Keren and rescue the imprisoned Alyss. Released May 2007 in Australia. 331 pages.
When Erak, the Skandian Oberjarl, is taken hostage during a raid on the desert lands to the south of the constant sea, a few of his men escape, including Erak's second in command, Svengal. Halt and Will must go with Svengal to deliver the ransom and secure Eraks freedom, but a royal presence is needed, too. The princess Cassandra, who Will knows as Evanlyn, persuades her father to let her go with them. Horace and the ranger Gilan round out the group to make sure that Evanlyn is well protected, but there are still the threats of violent sandstorms, warring tribes, and danger every where that may keep them from reaching Erak in time to secure his release. This book was released November 1 2008, in Australia, though some book stores released it earlier. 441 pages
Will is at the annual Ranger Gathering but Halt is investigating mysterious happenings in the west. When he does finally return, it's with bad news. Hibernia is in turmoil. A religious cult calling themselves the Outsiders are sowing confusion and sedition, and five of the six Hibernian kingdoms have been undermined. Now the sixth, Clonmel, is in danger. Halt, Will and Horace set out to restore order. Can the secrets of Halt's past help them in their mission? In book stores now.
Halt, Horace and Will follow Tennyson's trail to Picta. They're determined to stop the Outsider prophet and his remaining followers before the outlaws make their way across the border into Araluen. Will has defeated one of Tennyson's Genovesan assassins in Clonmel – but there are two left alive. Are the extraordinary archery skills of Will and Halt enough to save them during a duel with the assassins ... or is Will's mentor facing his last battle? It is scheduled to be released November 2, 2009.
People
* Will Treaty is chosen by Halt to become one of the Ranger Corps. He is a small orphan with brown eyes and hair that is tousled by his cloak. He is agile, curious and stealthy. His father, Daniel, was a sergeant in King Duncan's army, and his mother a farmer who died in child birth to Will. Will's father died doing a good deed for the kingdom by saving Halt, who saved the kingdom of Araluen twice. Will was raised in the orphan ward of castle Redmont. Will has a small, grey pony called Tug, and acquires a dog later in the series. The dog is called several names, such as Blackie, Bread-and-butter pudding, Traitor, and Shadow, in which is permanent. He later leaves the dog in Macindaw with the giant Trobar, who is quite fond of her. Will's first assignment was Seacliff, a small island that is described as a backwater place and was later assigned to Redmont to help Halt with his duties. He is highly thought of in the Ranger Corps and in Araluen nobility. As a Ranger, Will carries a longbow, a heavy saxe knife and a short throwing knife. Will is also able to play the mandola. He is given the surname "Treaty" because of the agreement he organized between the Skandians and the Arauluens. Will is stated as being like a son to Halt and is his best man at his wedding. In an interview, Flanagan stated that Will is loosely based on his son, Michael. John Flannagan says that he started the series as an inspiration to him.
*
Halt
is a member of the mysterious Ranger Corps, and is small, with brown-and-gray hair and a beard. He is grim and famous throughout the kingdom, (his fame precedes him) though people are often disappointed when they find out that he is small. He is a superb archer; as demonstrated in his proceedings and uses a massive longbow. Like all rangers his skill with the bow is uncanny, deadly accurate and devastatingly swift. Halt is fond of Will, and is willing to risk banishment from Araluen and the Ranger Corps to rescue Will. In the third book he is shown to have a fondness towards Horace and smiles quite a bit more than regular. It is revealed that he enjoys young company, even if it means a torrent of questions. (Seen in his interactions with Will, Horace, and Alyss.) He owns a ranger horse named Abelard. Halt is the ranger for Redmont and part of the rangers senior council, as well as the king's trusted adviser. It should also be noted that he is rather shy around other people. His former apprentice is the humorous sword expert, Gilan. Halt has some skill as a carver and likes to have flowers in his cottage, and is an excellent cook and a coffee drinker. When he encounter's other people, they are often inclined to be disappointed by his lack of height and apparent muscles. Halt hardly ever smiles; instead he raises one of his eyebrows, which Will first mistook as a sign of displeasure. He once defeated Morgorath's army by leading a cavalry charge across a secret ford on the river and into the army's rear. In book seven he marries Lady Pauline. He is a major character in books one, two, three, four, seven , eight and appears a few times in books five and six.
*
Horace
is a wardmate in Castle Redmont with Will, and eventually becomes a Battleschool Apprentice. He is a natural warrior, and although he used to be Will's rival, they became best friends when Will saved him from a rampaging wild boar only to be rescued by Halt. He traveled with Halt to rescue Will in skandia. He is tall and he is the captain of the Araluen Royal Guard Unit B. Horace is the champion of Princess Cassandra and he is also known as the Oakleaf Knight. He is famous in Gallica and also quite comfortable in female company. Most people think of Horace as a slow thinker, but he just likes to think things through properly. He is very logical and methodical. Horace normally carries a round shield with an oak leaf carving on it, a plain sword, and a heavy dagger. Horace has saved the Royal Princess of Araluen (He and Will have some tension between them about Princess Cassandra) and killed Morgarath in single combat (the duel is described in the second book). Horace plays a large part in most of the books.
*
Gilan
is Halt's former apprentice and is the only Ranger who carries a sword. Gilan is tall and humorous, in sharp contrast to his former master. He is also good with dealing with people, making them feel at ease with the tall Ranger. He also tries to cover up fears and worries with more humorous and seemingly uncaring attitude, mainly to calm people down. He is the ranger for Meric Fief, although he is moved to Norgate in The Siege of Macindaw and later moved to Whitby during the Ranger's Gathering in book eight. He owns a horse named Blaze. Gilan wants to travel with Halt to rescue Will in the third book, but Halt does not allow him to. Gilan is one of the junior Rangers, though one of the best unseen movers. Gilan's father and Halt were good friends, which was why Gilan wanted to become a Ranger. Gilan appears in the first, second, third, seventh and eighth books, and mentioned in the sixth book.
*
Erak
is the Skandian Oberjarl and is in charge of his wolfship,
Wolfwind.
Erak appears in the second, third, fourth books. He is captured and held at ransom in the seventh. He is originally seen in the Wargals camp eating meat with Svengal, Nordel and a few other Skandians, who later capture Will and Evanlyn. He is a typical mercenary but he isn't a cold blooded killer like most Skandians. He is a fearsome opponent, and wields a large battleaxe. He later becomes Skandian Oberjarl in the end of book four.
*
Evanlyn/Cassandra
is a mysterious girl Will meets in Celtica, and she is later revealed to be the Princess Cassandra. Evanlyn, the person she is pretending to be, is actually her late maid and friend. She is pretty, blonde and very brave as is proven when she takes command of the fifty or so remaining archers after the skandian line is breached. She is familiar with politics and military strategies, but not survival skills. She appears in the second, third, fourth and seventh books.
* When Will and Evanlyn travelled and fought together through celtica, and later imprisoned in Skandia, they developed a strong bond with each other. It was even hinted that Evanlyn held a love for Will, however this never had a chance to develop or be reciprocated as when they returned home their relationship suffered due to their separate callings and way of life. Evanlyn is described as being very determined, brave and on occasions stubborn. She is beautiful, tomboyish and fiercly loyal. On the first meeting between Will, Horace and Evanlyn, she shows little survival or fighting skills- being accustomed to the comfort of royalty and castle life. However as the series develops, she proves herself to be a skillful fighter armed with her weapon of choice- a sling. This is particularly evident during her travels in Arridi and her calm leadership in battle is shown during the battle for skandia.This leadership strength will make her a great queen when that day comes.